Bochy addressed some burning topics today, starting with the decision to again put Buster Posey at first base with Tim Lincecum catching. Asked about a national reporter’s tweet that Posey wouldn’t catch Lincecum again this year, Bochy made his position clear:

He made the call today because Posey was a little worn down after yesterday’s day game in Atlanta. Posey had caught the night before in a game that was delayed over an hour because of rain. He also came on the night before after Hector Sanchez got hurt.

“He felt it and you’re going to feel it,” Bochy said. “I don’t want to wear him down. You get to a point of diminishing returns and now it takes two or three days to get your legs back.”
Bochy said he was concerned tonight because Lincecum can be tough to catch, and with Posey already “feeling it,” he didn’t want to put him through another stressful night.

“He can beat them up pretty good,” Bochy said of Lincecum. “I didn’t want Buster going through another tough game after catching a hot day game right after a night game. That’s the truth. It’s totally my decision.”

Bochy said the plan is to have Posey catch Matt Cain tomorrow and Barry Zito on Sunday, and he is likely to start all three games against the Padres, although that might (and probably will) include a game at first base.

— Aubrey Huff pulled himself from last night’s Grizzlies game and is returning to San Francisco to have another MRI on his sprained right knee. Huff felt soreness while playing first base last night.

The newsier part here is that Huff was being prepared for a significant role. Asked if the Giants were hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Huff at first base, Bochy said, “Oh yeah, that’s why he stayed down to keep playing. We wanted him to get a lot of at-bats and get into everyday playing shape versus as a pinch hitter.

“We wanted that option to be ready to help Brandon (Belt) out at first base.”

Huff was hitting .207 in nine rehab games.

— As for the slumping Angel Pagan, he’s not hurt. In fact, he talked his way into the lineup yesterday. Bochy was going to give him a breather but Pagan wanted to face Tim Hudson, a pitcher he feels comfortable against and has good numbers against.

Pagan is just 6 for 24 over his last seven games and struck out three times yesterday.

“He’s fighting himself,” Bochy said. “He went through this in the spring and he’ll come out of it. He works too hard and fights it too hard. Sometimes, less is more.”

On that note, Pagan spent his off-day going through a strenuous pre-game workout and hitting session. Either way, today seems like a good opportunity for Schierholtz to either grab a bit more playing time or possibly show something to other teams.

— Lincecum has a 9.00 ERA on the road this season, the worst mark in the majors. He has dropped his past five road decisions and has not won away from AT&T Park since April 23 in the first game of a doubleheader against the Mets.

— The Giants are just 9-11 against the National League East this season. They are 10-15 all-time at Citizens Bank Park.

Alex Pavlovic

Post navigation

“Oh yeah, that’s why he stayed down to keep playing. We wanted him to get a lot of at-bats and get into everyday playing shape versus as a pinch hitter.”

Absolutely hilarious.

Scott

If Posey is “worn down” and “feeling it”, how about giving him a full day off? It seems short-sighted to keep running him out there every day and acting as if playing 1st base is as good as a day off. Catching is really tough on the body, especially on these road trips to hot and humid cities. I hope it doesn’t catch up to Posey in August and September, especially with his repaired ankle.

Can we release Huff already! He’s just more false hope for Sabean just like Freddy Sanchez.

Rich

Help Brandon? Last I checked, only one guy can play first base. Get real, Bochy.

Adam

If Huff’s rolling balls over to the right side, sounds like he’s back to ‘everyday playing shape’ already. And yeah, running Posey out there at 1B for nine straight is a funny way of resting him. Not that Belt hasn’t looked lost lately…but I was kinda hoping he’d foul one off his thigh a la Crawford, jolt himself out of the over-analyzing mental rut, and then start spraying them into the alleys.

pacman68

I told everyone that Huff was coming back to play first base for good. Bochy is clueless and will do everything in his power to sink this team or just barely make the playoffs. This team should be running away with this division.

Huff is done. He’s batting .201 … Thanks for the memories and see you later.

This is the best news the Giants could here about Huff. I hope his leg is okay but really don’t want to see him anymore.

Papa J

Thanks for phrasing the Huff story the way you did, Alex. This is going to be fun!

I’ve been on the anti-Belt side all along, so I’ll jump in here: Huff has at least proved he CAN succeed at the big league level. Belt has not.

OF COURSE they were hoping he could come back and start for them.

They need a RH stick with some pop in that lineup. With the 2nd wild card this season, everyone is in contention, so very few teams are in selling mode.

I don’t see them acquiring anyone better than Aubrey in a trade. And Belt has been an O-U-T for every pitcher in the NL for weeks.

MVGiantsFan

Scott – agree.

playing 1B is not a day off!

Giants Extra Regler

Paging Mr. Pill. Mr. Brett Pill to the white courtesy phone, please…

giantc

Huff getting hurt is actually a break — Bochy would have run him out there everyday. I think Huff knows he is done and may be looking for an excuse to fade away with his $22M — probably does not want to go out there and get booed.

RG

Grooming Huff to “help” Brandon at 1st. I’m sure Belt was thrilled with that idea! I hope the Giants are grooming Decker to help Bochy…

Rochester

Bochy is going to continue to ride Buster like he’s some sort of mule. Then when Buster goes into a big time slump, come mid to late August, Bochy will express befuddlement at how it all happened..

stevo

Classic Bochy (and Sabean?) Thinking they can get anything out of Huff. Shaking my head.

Fat Panda

Sounds like Huff’s disorder is not under control. He was going to be the DH in interleague before getting hurt, and now is apparently hurt again right before assuming a large role on the big club.

Or, maybe he’s just sandbagging it all the way to the bank, but I’ll choose to believe the former and will choose to remember him fondly for 2010.

Either way, though, it sounds like he’s done.

Fat Panda

Isn’t Decker the guy in charge of grooming minor league players to be big league players? Given how he’s done with the non-catchers (Crawford and Belt in particular), it kinda makes me think he’s not nearly as good as some here give him credit for.

Atlas

John Miller saying it’s in the 60s, the skies are graying, and there’s rain the in forecast, 80 percent chance at game time according to his weather app. On the other hand, Phillie staff say they aren’t concerned about weather tonight at all.

Mr. Sarcastic

Rochester says:
July 20th, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Bochy is going to continue to ride Buster like he’s some sort of mule.
==============
Yes, because the perfect time to take his bat out of the lineup is the first game of an important road series. Why he’s in there tonight is beyond me.

giantc

Huff and Uribe were great for the Giants in 2010 and they were paid $20M bonuses for that work. Fortunately Agent Ned bailed out Sabean and gave Uribe $1M more than the Giants offered to go down to LA, so that the Giants are not on the hook for both bonuses.

peakfreak

Fat Panda – I don’t think you can blame Decker for Belt and Crawford. Sabean’s the the one who decided that neither of them needed any more time in AAA (both had limited time there for different reasons).

Lefty

PapaJ: Be Anti-Belt all you want, but Huff is not the answer. (Nor is he right-handed, but maybe that was two different thoughts?) A lot of guys have “proven they can play at the big league level”–and then Father Time catches up with them and it is over.

Huff was great through July 2010. He had a solid postseason. But in the last two months of 2010, all of 2011, and the beginning of 2012, he has proven that his productive days are behind him. He has missed so much time now this season that it truly seems like wishful thinking to believe he can help them at all–Sabean said “lightning in a bottle,” and that’s a metaphor for “something very rare or unlikely.”

This could be a blessing in disguise for the Giants’ season–maybe it will inspire Sabean to make a trade that could bolster the offense rather than standing there with a bottle waiting for lightning to strike.

Nate’sFanMom

Huffy’s trying to get released, I think.

Not BRECKERONI

Way too much DRAMA for the ol’ gunslinger Bochy.

Sabean is gonna half to conduct a State of the Giants Press Conference.

😈

Fat Panda

My understanding is that the choice was going to be either Uribe or Huff, but not both. When Uribe took Dodger money, the Giants moved on Huff.

Ned does deserve some credit for making an offer to Huff that forced the Giants into overpaying him, but at the end of the day neither deal worked out for either team.

Nate’sFanMom

Bochy *hearts* Whiteside. But Timmy didn’t like Eli catching him last year. What gives?

outside the box

Maybe Sabean needs SOMETHING to show for the wasted dollars on Rowand/huff/Sanchez and maybe even Pagan. Maybe management won’t give him anymore resoucses to waste this year.

pacman68

THESE PEOPLE ARE FRACKING DELUSIONAL

Prior to Huff’s setback, Sabean said: “Who knows, we might catch lighting in a bottle when Huff comes off the DL at the end of the road trip.”

DO YOU EVEN WATCH THE GAMES SABEAN? He was the worse first baseman in all of baseball last year. And you know what??? This year he is worse!!!

Bochy and Sabean need to get their heads out of the sand or they will tank this season like they did last year.

DISGUSTED!!!!

Croix de Candlestick

I only caught the last inning of yesterday’s radio feed, so missed all the context and matchups. But, when listening, I thought Bochy might have pulled Belt for Christian in the 9th so that Belt could end the day with a respectable 1 for 3. You know, have something to build on and regain his confidence. Call me crazy for having missed Bochy’s nefarious plot to embarrass the kid

The Rogue see’s fat Sabean working his little brain again with huff. “Huff” can help belt? If I’m brandon I tell the “brass” I will “pass” on that tsunami. What possible future does fat sabean see with huff. Cut your losses. Cut huff. Posey needs a “full” day off. Physically and mentally. He is to darn valuable to wear down.
The ‘gigantes’ have a great opportunity right now. Establish that team now that you will go to the playoffs with. Need to pull away from the dodgers now! Leave no hope for them in august.

ClutchUp

Skinny Panda says: July 20th, 2012 at 3:36 pm 37..Alex, if Tim Lincecum really is catching, then I think the Giants can safely send Whiteside back to Fresno.

*Good play on words Skinny: “Lincecum can be tough to catch”…

Lefty

Pacman raises two good points:

1) Huff had the worst OPS of any 1B in baseball in 2011
2) His 2012 numbers (injury/anxiety-limited) are even worse.

So why would Sabean and Bochy even say something like that? Is it face-saving for Huff? Is it the money?

Dominican Dandy 27

Trade for Michael Cuddyer or Josh Willingham. This team is in dire need of a home run hitter. 55 home runs at this stage of the season is ridiculous. Belt’s confidence looks shot, striking out 1-3 times a game is not what is required for a first baseman. Thank God for the pitching staff !

ClutchUp

Playing first base Compared to Catching 55 = is a day off.

Like being behind the wheel in the dark to Hana versus being in the passenger seat.

The driver is negotiating all the switchbacks while the passenger’s head is hung out the window ~ ~ ~ trying to “keep it in”.

ClutchUp

Final Score Today

DRAMA 17 – Giants 0.

Wait, the game wasn’t played yet ….

pacman68

SLAP IN THE FACE WEEK FOR BELT

— Pagan bats 210 over 30 at bats but we LOVE PAGAN. He’s the best.
— Bochy bats career journey man Christian over Belt and he hacks at first pitch.
— Bochy tells the press that Hector is a better hitter.
— Now Bochy says that his plan was to bring Huff back and catch lightning in a bottle.

I fed the data to my crazy Robert Blake Cocka-too and he burped out Final score Giants 7 Phillies 5 with one rain delay.

Casilla threw the ninth scoreless

Flemmings voice cracked on one call

Bochy asked Mike Murphy to replace Bochy on his back with What??

Kontos attacked the Phanatic

Some gal jumped the fence, grabbed a Mic and hollered Melky I want to have your baby.

Giants Extra Regler

Just shows you how truly horrible Belt is that they think Huff is a good alternative. Poor Brandon with all those slaps in the face. Is he crying again?

Funny how pacman thinks Bochy decides on player moves like whether or not to bring back Huff. Why let reality get in the way of a good rant, though?

Angry Dan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The newsier part here is that Huff was being prepared for a significant role. Asked if the Giants were hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Huff at first base, Bochy said, “Oh yeah, that’s why he stayed down to keep playing. We wanted him to get a lot of at-bats and get into everyday playing shape versus as a pinch hitter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And this is exactly why a lot of people don’t really trust that Bochy knows how to handle Belt. Belt has been no great shakes this season, but if Bochy actually thinks Huff is the better option starting at 1B over Belt, then, yes, I REALLY don’t trust his judgment in evaluating offense. And, no, there is no black binder in the world with oracle-like abilities that would ever tell Bochy that Huff is the better option over Belt right now.

Go Giants!

Atlas

Lefty, it was obviously positively spun, politically correct, and face-saving for Huff, Sabean, Bochy, the team, and the entire Giants organization.

Giants Extra Regler

Cody Ross? Awesome. Dude’s coming off his worst-ever year and looking for a 3-year deal at $6 million per. Boy, THAT would have been a popular signing if Sabean had bitten. Imagine all the WAR-heads here LOVING that deal.

Dreamers.

Lefty

Regler: Do you object to all men crying ever, or just Belt? For example, Vernon Davis sobbed like a baby in Coach Harbaugh’s arms after catching the winning TD in the 49ers’ playoff game. Would you also call him “a little girl” like you did Belt yesterday?

I see nothing strange about a 22-year-old, with one year of pro experience, who’s just been told that he’s going to be the starting first baseman for the reigning World Champions on Opening Day, getting a bit overwhelmed with emotion in the moment. I haven’t heard about Belt ever crying since–have you?

But what do I know–I’m just a girl.

Lefty

ClutchUp: Remember, Sandoval played an inning in LF during the off-season Taiwan tour. I saw a video clip. It wasn’t pretty!

giantc

He didn’t get three years at six million. That is the thing with negotiations, you do not always have to pay the asking price.

Matthew

Lefty, I’m a guy, and I cried at that scene of him crying, so Regler likely doesn’t think much of me…..

Atlas

Matthews, I’m crying now at the thought of you crying because of Belt’s crying. So, we’ve got that going for us.

youd think we are in last place reading the comments on this blog.. get real you guys

Atlas

Mayor Lee has business in the city of brotherly love? Eliana is the big show in the city this weekend anyway. Probably better to head out of town with the Gigantes afterall.

Lefty

I know “Number One” means “fastball” when Krukow says it…but I can’t help thinking of when I was potty-training my kids.

al oha

Huff’s “setback” is a step FORWARD for the Giants.
Prevents Bochy from HIMSELF.

The answer to getting Buster enough rest, while getting a hotter bat in the lineup as long as Belt is struggling again and Hector is on the DL, is to start Whiteside, then when his 8th spot comes up for the 2nd time (5th or 6th inning), pinch hit for him and have Posey take over Catching the last few innings. Belt and Posey play their natural positions for the best Defensive alignment when the GAME IS ON THE LINE.

Posey catches only 33% of the time. Excluding the pre-game bullpen warmup of the Starting pitcher, keeps him out of the crouch much more. Gives Belt only one AB while he’s scuffling, but gets his superior glove on Defense. But, most importantly, FINISHES most games off with their BEST DEFENSIVE ALIGNMENT.

Matthew

Worley and Pablo = tonnage

al oha

This umpire has a huge strike zone.

Lincecum will benefit from it.

Lefty

AP: The Giants were in first place this time last year, too. Then Sabean got antsy, made some trades, and demoted the youngsters. Bochy wouldn’t play anyone except washed-up veterans who couldn’t hit OR play defense. By Aug. 9 they were out of first and never sniffed it again.

We have trust issues.

Bapah

I listen to the tongue and mouth noises with the hemming and hawing and I feel like my head will explode. It isn’t the words (although they haven’t changed in several years) it’s the sound of hidden vindictiveness and Gomer-like pettiness and it didn’t used to bother me. Now, I don’t want to hear him. He always seems like he’s lying for some reason. I don’t have any idea why he’s so anti-youth. I wonder what he thinks about that kind of treatment for his kid. I’m confounded and a little bitter.

al oha

Hitters better expand their zone and go up there aggressive.

Lincecum should stay away from the middle of the plate.

pacman68

Lefty

Best post of the night. What do we learn from History?

Not to repeat it.

Atlas

Lefty, the good thing about this year is that not counting any pitchers, there’s only like 2.5 vets on the team.

FreeHat

They couldn’t have looked worse first time through the lineup. Never a good sign.

Let’s hope Lincecum takes advantage of a peculiar strike zone.

pacman68

Atlas

That could change in a hurry. Bring in a veteran SS and a veteran Firstbase

That’s 3 infielders over 32.

The wheels will fall off.

al oha

Charlie Manuel knows what Lincecum is capable of.

peakfreak

Here is a puzzle for y’all – The answer is Getting Hit by a pitch, what is the question?

Answer – Whiteside’s best approach for getting on base.

al oha

Hey Pac, what’s the name of that song?

Won ton soup? lol

pacman68

al oha

I don’t know but I like it.

outside the box

3 or 4 more good inning from TL last the last three, and posey would catch him next time around either. and no I didn’t jinx him.

peakfreak

This is a pathetic batting performance, did they do any homework? Do they have any ability to adjust? sheesh

FreeHat

Beginning of the end.

peakfreak

OY VEY!

BBFM

Game over. We’re hitting like 2011 again where a 1-0 lead is a victory.

2holehitting

4 almost automatic outs at the end of the lineup not good.

BBFM

They could improve offensively by trade any position but 3b, C, LF. Pretty pathetic.

7 strikeouts he must be doing something right. The bottom of the order reminds me alot of last years. Not good,

peakfreak

I’ll give Worely a little credit, but if he was pitching Like Tim, then the Giant’s would have scored.

I’m looking for an understanding of the strike zone from the Giants.

ODB

This line-up reeks of 2011. Whiteside should never, ever start at C. Any catcher they have up and down the farm would be a better back-up. Would Bork/Sabean give an untested rookie a shot? No way. Whiteside has been tested and proven he SUCKS at the major league level. Frustrating.

2holehitting

240’s 230’s 200’s 110’s,250

that is 5 in a row, Pitch around the heart of the order and the rest is a breeze.

2holehitting

Nice job Nate!!

pacman68

And everyone laughed at me when I said bring Joseph up. Just like they laughed at me last year when I wanted to see Hector.

This team needs a freaking BAT! Pablo is overrated.

livefree

You know how he could end the Lincecum-Posey rumors? By playing his best catcher more often when Lincecum pitches.

You play Whiteside over Belt, you can’t really make a case that you’re trying to win this one game. Maybe you’re trying to win more games in the future, and that’s fair, but that is a HUGE dropoff for no apparent reason.

2holehitting

Man Bockey new hwat he was doing playing Whiteside.

LOL

Sam

WOW

Giants Extra Regler

And the last time Belt did that was…?

livefree

And RIGHT on schedule, Whitey shows up the disgruntled poster again. …. baseball is the greatest.

Dumb pitcher.

totalfan62

NICE AB from Whiteside. Way to make a veteran contribution.

How much some of you detractors give him a shout out?

2holehitting

Whitey keeps that up and Belt may never play again…

peakfreak

OMG!!! Whiteside hit it out of the infield. miracles never cease.

Mr. Sarcastic

ODB says:
July 20th, 2012 at 5:13 pm
This line-up reeks of 2011. Whiteside should never, ever start at C. Any catcher they have up and down the farm would be a better back-up. Would Bork/Sabean give an untested rookie a shot? No way. Whiteside has been tested and proven he SUCKS at the major league level. Frustrating.
===========================

RBI Double for Whiteside.

HA!

Sam

Bad managing by pitching to him with first base open and two outs

pacman68

I told you guys Whiteside was the answer.

Internet Giants Fan

So many people are mad here

Hacktor to AAA

Send Hacktor to AAA when he’s eligible to come off the DL. Hacktor can learn how to catch by playing everyday in Fresno, and the Giants will benefit from Whiteside’s superior defense (and, as we know, there isn’t much of a difference between Whiteside’s offensive productivity and Hacktor’s).

Plus, this will keep Bochy from running Hacktor and his .280 OBP out there three times per week.

Giants Extra Regler

Belt is wondering why Whiteside didn’t try for a walk in that situation.

giantc

Make him pay Gregor.

outside the box

And Whitey steals third. jk!

BBFM

Let’s keep ripping him, he may hit for the cycle.

giantc

Regler = broken record that is all scratched up and very annoying.

zombiehobo

Whiteside gets a hit, Timmy walks, what is this, the bizarro world?

thefarnz

Isn’t baseball great!! Things you’d think you wouldn’t see: A run off a fall-down-off-the-mound-balk, and then hits from Nate & Eli for a run. I love this game!!

ODB

106- Glad you copied my post verbatim. It’s just as true after the double or anything else Whitey does in this game

totalfan62

Blanco’s been doing that a lot. Don’t know if he’s not seeing the ball or if the league’s got a good scouting report on him. Maybe some of both. Nevertheless, it’s hurting us.

Internet Giants Fan

Can Eli play 1B?

2holehitting

Nate scoring was all set up by crawfords sacrifice.

fuddyduddy with sarcasm

how dare Lincecum take a walk? he should swing and drive in the run!

2holehitting

Timmy with short hair, His balance is off because he is top heavy right?

thefarnz

Stolen off of Timmy

The Oracle

If Bochy were the King of England, he would abdicate his thrown to write Huff’s name into the lineup. It’s one of the great love stories of our time.

Tumorseal

Wait, when did Whiteside become an exceptional blocker.

Nice BS there Kruk.

Atlas

Who drove our one run in?

pacman68

TRADE PAGAN AND TRY TO GET ANOTHER RELIEVER

Gary Brown’s on-base streak reaches 36 games with his RBI single in the fourth inning.

totalfan62

Timmy’s pitching a great game, picking up right where he left off Saturday. Confidence building for him and for us.

This would be a good place for some of the Timmy slammers to give him some props.

outside the box

totalfan62 says:
July 20th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
129..
Timmy’s pitching a great game, picking up right where he left off Saturday. Confidence building for him and for us.

This would be a good place for some of the Timmy slammers to give him some props

Why, is he going to read this after work today?

totalfan62

outside the box says: July 20th, 2012 at 5:43 pm

——————————————————————–

No, because if you think it’s good to jump on and kick him when he’s down, you should think it’s good to tip your cap when he does well. That’s what most balanced people would do.

Again, I have a feeling we aren’t going to be hearing from “The Brandon Crawford Watch” tonight.

totalfan62

OK, now get the sixth inning completed ASAP.

Tumorseal

Whiteside and Craw. Offensive powerhouses.

Foothills Ryan

Brandon Crawford Watch

Watched him clear the bases.

wan8iv

It was very nice to see Charlie leave his struggling starter in the game.
Bochy would have been killed for doing something so stupid but the Phils do have an awful bullpen.

Stan

Stevie Wonder now can see-breaking news!

Angry Dan

Bad Buster. Bad Nate. What are they thinking just looking to draw a walk when they have a runner in scoring position? Hit the ball! Walks are useless! Oh wait….

Atlas

And we think BOCHY makes some questionable decisions… Worley still in there.

wan8iv

Whiteside looked safe to me but I’m biased

al oha

Question:

What kind of Pizza does Crawford eat while in Philadelphia?

Answer:

The Grand Salami, of course.

Obrother

CRAWFORD. WOW. Is just my imagination or does his swing look lightening fast. Tonight’s homer and the one against Atlanta his swing looks different. Does anyone know if he changed something because that was sweet.

Angry Dan

Get 3 more outs and then let the rain POUR down!

al oha

Didn’t this blog say that, working a base on balls in front of your weak-hitting 7th and 8th spot is of no value?

totalfan62

Dusty Danger says: July 20th, 2012 at 5:55 pm

I have a feeling we aren’t going to be hearing from “The Brandon Crawford Watch” tonight.
——————————————————————–

You took the words right out of my laptop!

wan8iv

Obrother –maybe he’s just maturing and actually doing what some MLB players and improve with hard work and having the chance to play most everyday.
Remember it took JoeyVotto 6 long years of minor league ball to become the player he now is

outside the box

Crawford is doing something different. He’s relaxing while the other brandon is getting beat down this week.

wan8iv

oh oh!!

Atlas

Obrother,

I reckon, Crawford’s definitely learned something about his swing in the last couple days. I just hope he gathers it in, processes it, and remembers it.

Btw, you just knew with that kind of lead Tim was going to throw some fair offerings.

wan8iv

get the bullpen up while he still feels good about his outing

OBPrUs

Whiteside should be playing every day. His 500 OBP is the highest on the team and he does not take any walks to get it.

wan8iv

Lincecum needs to focus and get out of this inning without giving up anything else, and BOCHY get someone up in that bullpen.

OBPrUs

Sure glad the 7 spot did not take a walk with the bases loaded to drive in a run.

wan8iv

nice play by the Panda

al oha

Lincecum is making Pence look like Lydia Pence, instead of Hunter Pence.

Foothills Ryan

I like second half Lincecum way better than first half Lincecum.

Looks like a new man.

wan8iv

well Bochy maybe u don’t have to get anyone up in the bullpen

Stan

Look at some of the last posts on the lineup. Crawford cant hit..Its a Lincecum start -a sure loss.
Then look at my post around 16th or so. “66f and so Lincecum is good for 7 innings and 2 or 3 runs. My crystal ball and barometer never fails me…

2holehitting

2 comments..

1: Tim looks solid. He is not giving the impression of things falling apart. He has been able to spot his offspeed for strikes.

2: Crawford beat the book up and in, turned on it and took it deep. Very well done. That will be noted in the how to not to book.

al oha

The foul tip off of Crawford’s right knee in the 2nd Atlanta game, may remind him to keep his weight back on the back leg.

His bat does look quicker ever since then, though.

totalfan62

Three Ks for Blanco. Christian might soon be getting some starts vs. righties. Love Blanco, but he’s gotta get on base.

And yeah, exactly as Kruk just said, I sure am glad we got Theriot.

2holehitting

I think he decided it is better to hit the ball away from him then at himself.

Bapah

Al Oha,

Kudos.

Game of Throwns,

excellent.

wan8iv

in case anyone hasn’t noticed Matt freaking Kemp is really good

totalfan62

Hang a BIG OLD star on that one! BCraw35. Nice.

outside the box

Timmy should be done with work now, so he can come over and read this blog. GOOD JOB. T.L.

totalfan62

Outstanding pitching by Timmy tonight. Beauty.

wan8iv

Jeremy Horse?

wan8iv

Lincecum caught a break that the weather was cooler than usual in Philly tonight

cyan

Timmy was outstanding tonight, so happy to see 2 quality starts from him in a row.

Obrother

Bianco- give a few days off and if Pagan plays tomorrow play Nate. Bochy needs to utilize A fourth outfielder more. Bianco is worn down and needs to rest a few days. Like I’ve said before ALL baseball players experience slumps ( except Melky apparently) and we have a very capable 4 th outfielder who when hot is lights out so play him. I think we have a great outfield but if Melky, Pagan and Bianco keep getting thrown in the mix 90% of the time come late season and post season we’re in for problems. Also I’m with many posters on playing 1st isn’t a day off for Buster but I can understand playing him for the first game in this series. Timmy looked good tonight. Wouldn’t it be total sweetness of he’s back, Zeets keeps pitching the way he has and of course Bum, Vog and Cain continue. This team looks good even without any upgrades although a tweak or two would help. Crawford is up- gotta run

Tumorseal

Craw!

wan8iv

good point Obrother on resting Blanco tomorrow

wan8iv

add on runs are sweet

cyan

Crawford with a spectacular game himself, it’s nice to see him doing well.

Matthew

Brandon Crawford ‘s Watch is a freaking Rolex!

Shhhhhhhhhhh….

omagiantsfran

I love this team… Proud to be a Giants fan

wan8iv

that possum commercial is funny

wan8iv

that Uribe HR was important

Obrother

WOW- Crawford. Like another poster said maybe he crossed the threshold of major league baseball AB’s and figured something out, he looks impressive tonight. Another RBI for Craw. I’d love to see all the Crawford can’t hit crowd eat some major crow so Craw keep it going.

Let’s all give the Mets a boost, they’re trailing the Dodgers in the bottom of the 7th.

omagiantsfran

Talking with a Royals fan at work. the Royuals have Billy Butler who might be available. he is dh’ing in the AL but has played first base. Still not a fan of players changin leagues mid season but this guy might be a canidate

wan8iv

Obrother—the people u are talking about who have really doubted Crawford are guys like KeithLaw, Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America all the independent scouting services have said they doubt he will ever become a productive ML hitter.

wan8iv

if the Giants went after Billy Butler they would have to give up a productive ML starting pitcher, the Giants have no one they can spare. The Royals also are not going to be wanting to deal with Sabean for a while after J.Sanchez.
The Royals need ML starters and that’s all they would take back for their hitters.

wan8iv

here’s another reason why the Royals need starters:

greg schaum ‏@Greg_Schaum
In case you missed this from earlier: 2011 Royals organization P of the year Greg Billo will have Tommy John Surgery

Matthew

Hey, look! It’s Bruce Hurst!

Matthew

Nope… Broce Horst…

Matthew

Wow, looks like Chavez Ravine all the sudden

wan8iv

Belt didn’t look good on that AB

(master of the obvious)

SurfCity

Dave @ 5 — They can’t release Huff because they’re counting on him to play first base if they’re able to pull the trigger on a Brandon Belt trade. Posey and Huff will platoon at first base, and Posey will spell Whiteside at catcher.

Timmy was nails. Good fastball, specialty pitches diving down in the zone. Lots of hitters fooled. Real solid work from #55.

fooj

It’s nice to see Tim loose and smiling! 🙂

Mercedsgirl

My son’s pinto team was honored at the San Jose Giants game on July 14th. They had won first place in their PONY League. All the SJ Giants players signed the kids’ baseballs, took pictures, took them out to sing the national anthem, etc. EXCEPT for Aubrey Huff. He was noticeably “above it all”, even glaring at some of the kids after they kept calling his name and he kept ignoring them. What a disappointment! If he wasn’t into meeting with them before the game, he should have stayed in the locker room. I hope he heard the booing during the game from some of his youngest, former fans……

Gooser

I am glad some on here know so much more about baseball than Bochy does. I am sure it’s because they played in the majors and have watched and coached mlb baseball from 40 feet away for some 20 years. They have to be right because they have so much experience backing their opinions.

Oh yeah get rid of Pagan and put Brown in center. You know, the guy who has never seen major league pitching. He has to be good because he is hitting AA pitching. Everybody who hits at AA kills in the bigs right?

Seriously, the Giants are in first place with an average at best lineup and a Cy Young winner who has been lost most of the season. All in all I will take it and thank Mr Bochy and Mr Sabean. They obviously know more than I do.

SurfCity

Missed most of the game, so I’ll just say it’s nice to see Tim pitch a winning game. I assume he looked good, and like the previous poster, would like to hear how he looked from others

Foothills Ryan

Giants are 6-1 in the second half. Who’s hatin’ on Bruce Bochy this evening?

Do 2010 postseason highlights inspire any ill-will about Boch?

Give the Fire Bochy Anthem a rest – in peace.

bullship

Well this is a good overall win for the Giants,

Linecum is looking better, and nice to see bats other than the big three coming alive.

Giants are coming together, starting to look really good .

Lets keep it rolling

Go Giants

E-B

@total: THANK YOU!!!!

(and sorry, I forgot to name you in my experts list; always luv your posts)

It seems Bochy has the engine humming. And, maybe, there is reason to think Lincecum is going to get out of that grave he’s been digging.

Foothills Ryan

Gooser,

I’d love to see Brown over Pagan right now. Eastern League has the top pitching prospects. He’s seeing ball, hitting ball. That’s kind of what Sandoval did when he jumped AAA. Let’s see what Brown can do for us.

But hey, Schierholtz looked pretty decent today. You never know with Nate. Maybe he got it off his chest and is ready to perform. Hopefully Bochy gets him back in there soon.

Sam

Baggs crushed it on Jeporady

omagiantsfran

i will start the comploaints.. irkeed at posey starting at catcher over whiteside. posey should only catch 40% of the staff

wan8iv

LOL@Sam

AP

Lefty says:
July 20th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
71..
AP: The Giants were in first place this time last year, too. Then Sabean got antsy, made some trades, and demoted the youngsters. Bochy wouldn’t play anyone except washed-up veterans who couldn’t hit OR play defense. By Aug. 9 they were out of first and never sniffed it again.

We have trust issues.

that was barely into POSEYS ABSENCE… come on how would the pirates manage w/o mccutchin? u think theyre in first? look what happen to the dodgers without kemp. totally the managers fault huh???

Bochy is a pretty smart guy, he knew that Nate made those comments about playing time so he gave him a chance to prove himself tonight. If Nate had never made those comments he wouldn’t have played. That’s how you do it.

JD4SF

I think this Giants Win was played for all those fans who were convinced – even before the game started !?! – that this lineup would result in a loss, for whatever reason. 😉

Timmy had some bumps, but got the job done nicely – made me smile to see another good outing! Crawford (5 RBIs!) had me whooping with his grand slam, but that also means 3 filled the bases ahead of him. Whiteside made me grin with his double. Props to the bottom of the order for a strong contribution. Theriot’s bat was sure hot, and good to see Pablo’s bat start working again. We also had some very nice defensive plays – in particular Craw’s dive and throw for an out in the 7th.

The list goes on, but this was a TEAM win. That doesn’t mean that every player was particularly good in the AB, but we had no errors and certainly got enough runs to win … and the W is the bottom line.

1st place. 6-1 since the AS break. Let’s get another win tomorrow!
8)

totalfan62

AP:

Were you around last year, late July/early August? First, let me remind you that Posey went down on May 25, FSanchez about three weeks later, and yet the patchwork Giants lineup and their outstanding pitching held on to first place into late July and early August.

Then…Sabean and Bochy decided to bring in Beltran, demote Crawford, trade for washed up Orlando Cabrera–and not get rid of Tejada–and the Giants had an awful August.

Two months is a lot more than “barely”, August 2011 was one of the worst months in recent Giants history, and yeah–a lot of that was on Sabean and Bochy.

al oha

He’s baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Just another Freak Friday.

Glad to have you back in the fold, Tim. Now lead us to the Promised Land, again.

AP

yea the giants played well for a bit just like the dodgers kept playing well without kemp.. people were saying oh they’re the best team in baseball.. it caught up to them JUST LIKE IT DID THE GIANTS

Gooser

Foothills,

My sarcasm was not directed towards you, but you probably know that. I’ve grown tired of the lack of sanity anti-Bochy crowd There are some who are critical of Bochy that i respect their opinion, if they back it up with some wisdom. The Bochy is trying to ruin certain players are too emotional for me.

But Foothills you are too smart to want Brown over Pagan. Yes he is hitting AA against top pitching prospects. But let’s be real…they are prospects, not mlb pitchers. Most will never sniff the bigs. I like Brown, and if the Giants were in the position they were in 2009 when they brought Panda up i would be all for it. They are in first, so to me it would be crazy to do something like that. Pagan will figure it out, just like he did when he came out of spring training. I would guess Brown is still 2 years away from sticking with the Giants.

SurfCity

Whoa – Baggarly just won on Jeopardy

2holehitting

Solid game. Nice to see crawford get a few more hits. Past few games he has looked pretty good, still has a rough lsat 14 days or so.

The other Brandon, ouch. Find someone anyone and give him a chance to work it out in AAA.

Foothills Ryan

That was a dramatic come from behind in the bottom of the ninth by Baggs!

Well done.

e-pip

Thought I see what’s happening over here.
Shouldn’t have bothered.
Too many in-breds with baseless opinions who like to type without thinking.
Ciao

al oha

I like Vida Blue’s response to Papa’s statement about how hot Matt Kemp is right now.

He said in essence, “Matt Kemp, hot hitter? Then just pitch around him, sheesh!”

Listening to jon Miller on the post game wrap he is one funny dude, he was commenting on 4 guys in the knbr booth tomorrow doing the giants game on radio. That guy is extremely funny to me.

Obrother

I’m stoked to see Timmy, Crawford, Nate, Theriot, Whitside, Pablo, Posey, all contribute tonight. A real team effort tonight. No errors. When this team clicks like tonight it’s pure beauty. Where’s all the posters who called this a loss because Whiteside, Crawford and Nate were playing. All 3 of those guys contributed big time tonight. That’s why I love baseball because you just never know who’s yesterday’s goat and today’s hero.

Foothills Ryan

Gooser,

Flattery will get you nowhere. But I agree, you are most likely correct.

It’s fun to speculate on a Brown call up. He comes up, and just hits. Doesn’t walk, just hits. Peppering the ball all over the park – sort of a Mike Trout – lite. Then the Giants have a CF next year and can let Pagan and his crazy horse ways walk.

Plus, I never tire of a pun:

What can Brown do for you?

SurfCity

Play Nate rather than Brown if you need a back-up outfielder – whether they’re trying to trade him or not.

Omagiantsfan

What obrother says. How can you complain about these guys? They are playing good ball with contributions from all over. Fun to watch and listen to.

El Lobo

Baggs performance was like the Giants in the extras game the other night. Pitiful with RISP (Double Jeopardy), but scored 6 in the 11th (Final Jeopardy). What? There was a Giants-Phillies game tonight? Who won?

What can Brown do for you? Yes always liked that. But Angel Pagan? A name like that? Okay not a pun but an oxymoron, how could you ot love that name. Giants are full of them.

Pitcher catches Buster napping at first he is picking Poseys.

Melkman..obvious

Belt..obvious too if he Belted the ball. Maybe that’s an oxymoron.

Kyle Perizi

Post#125, that was a great spin on things. I remember when the Phills signed Lee, I thought, this is a dynasty that will dominate for 3 years. Philly fans must be perplexed.

al oha

Andy Baggerly with a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, FTW! This, after falling behind because of two misplays on daily doubles. The last correct answer in Double Jeopardy, by Andy, kept the leader from walking away with the win.

Congrats, Baggs. Now we get to see him defend his win.

totalfan62

Mercedsgirl says: July 20th, 2012 at 6:56 pm

My son’s pinto team was honored at the San Jose Giants game on July 14th. All the SJ Giants players signed the kids’ baseballs, took pictures, etc. EXCEPT for Aubrey Huff. He was noticeably “above it all”, even glaring at some of the kids after they kept calling his name and he kept ignoring them. What a disappointment….
——————————————————————–

As Lefty said earlier, hard to see how Sabean/Bochy think they can get ABNYTHING out of Huff at this point. He can’t even hit Class A pitching. I can’t believe Bochy said “oh yeah, he was gonna get a shot”. That is truly mind-boggling to me.

What..What..What? Our summer game just finished and Huh Parents say that sanFrisco beat the PA with this silly LU. Been away since my last post @ 330-ish. Will I have to wait for post game or does anybody have a summary. Somebody said 55 fell down on the mound? Is he ok? Did 22 hurt/help us? Did the thought of Bochy or Huff hurt us? Did MrMelBoch use little ball today? Have we traded for Hanley yet? Maybe Footy, JD, Lefty or Matthew can help me out. Our team won 7 to 6 after being down 5 to 0. I made 3 bad coaching moves tho and one of our more vocal mamabear moms YELLED at me 🙁

SurfCity

BRANDON CRAWFORD WATCH

Tonight Crawford reverted – back to his first major league at-bat.

SurfCity

😉

Stan

Tims eating.

totalfan62

Wow. Solid win tonight. Go into Philly and take the first game, largely due to stellar pitching from Timmy. Craw’s GS a beauty, Riot’s a hit machine. No doubt Philly’s not the same team as the past few years, but still a sweet win. Cain vs. Hamels tomorrow: should be even better.

A good example of why payroll management is so important (something the Giants have to improve upon)….check these Philly numbers:

I remember when the Phillies lost to the Giants in the NLCS — phillies fans just couldn’t accept it. They figured they were a team for the ages that year. They grumbled about how on paper they should have won – and they got down on their own hitters for not hitting. But I think of them grudgingly noticed that it was the Giants’ pitching that beat them. Then I think they figured if they beefed up on their pitching, they would get to the World Series for sure. Didn’t happen for them.

totalfan62

Clutch:

Timmy was strong, seven innings only two runs. Whiteside drives in the first run with a clutch (!) two-out double into right center. Crawford launches a tape-measure Grand Slam to put the game away. Bullpen kicks in two clean innings, and we post the W. Nice.

Papa J

Starting to look like the toughest remaining series – other than the two in LA – will be the 4-gamer in STL in early August.

The Nats & Braves at AT&T won’t be easy either, of course – but I’d say the Giants are looking forward to getting DC on their turf.

Foothills Ryan

Surf,

Crawford’s first career AB did not result in the GS you were thinking about. I think it was his third. But it was his first big league hit.

Foothills Ryan

Gooser,

Pagan’s need not be demonic. Think druids erecting stonehenge or peasants dancing around the maypole, drinking wine and fiercely copulating.

pacman68

Great win and let’s keep building on it.

SurfCity

Thanks FR — please edit the Crawford Watch accordingly, in your minds

Dirty Al

Let’s just go with this lineup for awhile.

Seemed to work swell tonight.

Just goes to show how all the hand-wringing and criticism here every day about the lineup is often pointless. There are many variables in play that determine the outcome. Even the best players stink at times, and even guys like Eli can come through on occasion.

Totalfan tks for the recap. Wow I went back and read all the neagative posts from our normal posters. What was up with that. Many had the game lost @ 1-0 PA. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN (predictions) from normal who root unconditionally for the good guys. Johnny Guitar Watson sang If Lovin You is Wrong I Don’t Wanna be Right. 😉 Shamefu!

El Lobo

Nice to see Nate join in the post win OF celebration jump with Melky and Blanco. Hopefully the whole Schulman article will blow over and we can focus on real news like how the Giants are doing on the field.